Senior Year Box Set

One of them whined about not wanting to take it all. I told them that if they didn’t, they didn’t get any of it. There had to be other charity thrift stores that would pick up. He finally relented.

Mom got over her snit and let Habitat take all the other stuff we’d planned to give to charity. I’ll admit to being in shock when they had to get another truck. Like I said, we’d collected a lot of stuff over the years.

◊◊◊

I was able to slip the leash of my security because no one had told Manaia what Cassidy was up to on the weekends. Since Cassidy had volunteered at the large animal clinic, I called Pam to see if she wanted to go out tonight. She said that she and Tracy had already made plans to meet up. I told her to invite Tracy to come along.

After I picked up Pam, we drove to State to get Tracy at her dorm.

“Where do you want to go for dinner?” I asked them once Tracy was in the car.

“Cassidy said she liked the Green Door Bistro,” Pam suggested.

“Where’s that?” Tracy asked.

“It’s a new place that just opened. It’s a mix of fancy with down-home,” Pam said.

I kept my comments to myself about how she’d answered Tracy’s question about ‘where’ the restaurant was located. It was such a girl answer, totally confusing to guys.

“Did you like it?” Tracy asked.

“I had a rib eye that was better than anything I’ve ever gotten around here. I wouldn’t mind going back,” I said.

“It’s settled, then,” Pam said.

“How was Prom?” Tracy asked.

“Pam and I were Queen and King,” I shared.

“As if that were ever in doubt,” Tracy said, dismissing me, and then asked Pam, “How was your date?”

“Honestly?” Pam asked as she glanced over at me.

“Don’t look at me,” I said.

“Don was sort of boring. His sister got out of hand, and he had to take her home, so he missed about half of the dance. When he got back, all he wanted to do was talk to his friends,” Pam said.

“So, a complete waste?” Tracy asked.

“Pretty much. Cassidy can have him back. I think I’m still within the thirty-day return window,” Pam shared.

“I thought he dumped her. Why would she want him back?” Tracy asked.

None of us had an answer to that.

◊◊◊

After we ordered and got our drinks, Tracy pulled a wrapped package out of her enormous purse and handed it to me.

“What’s this?” I asked.

“Just open it,” Tracy said.

Tracy had to have had it wrapped at the store because it was done so nicely. I took my time to undo the tape so as not to damage the gold paper. I opened the package, saw what was inside, and smiled.

“She got it published,” I announced.

Jocelyn, Tracy’s roommate and Destiny’s cousin, had exhibited her photographs at an art show at the Krannert Art Museum. She’d showcased a technique called ‘mirrored images.’ She’d explained that the pictures represented the duality of life and showed that there were always two sides to every story. Well, that was the public story. In private, she admitted that she just liked the way they looked.

I’d encouraged her to make them into a coffee-table book, and her professor, Dr. Garrison, agreed. I’d sent her to Mr. Hill, for whom I’d done a lot of modeling work, because he owned his own advertising company. He was someone I figured would know how she should go about getting her book published.

“She wrote something inside the cover for you,” Tracy said.

I opened it and read her note.

David,

This is a proof copy of my book. Mr. Hill had them printed so we could show them to different publishers. I just got word that one of them wants to distribute it nationwide.

Thank you for seeing what I had and its potential.

Jocelyn

P.S. I’m still interested in the mystery of big hands.

“She said you should swing by,” Tracy said.

“Probably not. My dad got on me pretty good about stuff like that. Tell her thanks, but I’m trying to be a better man.”

Clearly, neither girl bought that one.

“Be sure to thank her for the book. I hope it sells well,” I added.

“I’ll tell her,” Tracy assured me.

“Come to think of it, give me her number, and I’ll thank her personally,” I decided.

“There’s my favorite slut,” Tracy said.

“Bite me, Princess. It would mean more if I did it personally.”

“Whatev,” Tracy fired back.

Our food came, and I talked to them about moving to LA.

“Cindy has gotten busy and has the condo close to ready. When do you gals plan to move in?” I asked.

“Probably the middle of August. We and Cassidy were talking about spending at least a week to get settled before school started,” Pam shared.

“Tell Lexi when you finally decide, and I’ll get the Mustang delivered.”

“Someone’s getting lucky tonight,” Tracy all but purred.

“Back off. You just got to play with him at your lake house. He asked me out tonight,” Pam told her friend.

“We could share him,” Tracy suggested.

“Do I get a vote in this?” I asked.